The X FACTOR featured rock and roll tonight, but did the judges follow the rules? Well, not according to Simon Cowell. After Chris Rene gave a stellar performance of the Bob Marley classic reggae song “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright”, Cowell accused L.A. Reid of “not following the rules”.

Is Bob Marley a rock singer? It appears that it depends on who you ask. He was on the cover of Rolling Stones magazine and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, have you ever considered him anything but a reggae legend?

To summarize the performances tonight, it seems like the judges are letting the contestants mentor them, instead of vice versa. The dream team of judges are hired to mentor the contestants and ensure they pick the proper songs and wardrobe. Unfortunately, it just does not seem to be happening in all cases, which could end up causing some to lose the $5 million dollar prize.

Rachel Crow sounded good and the judges praised her performance, but this was not my favorite choice of songs for her. She still is growing and needs to stick with strong song selections. And in my opinion, her outfit was also not fit for a teen. Last week she was much better.

LeRoy Bell is a great singer. But tonight L.A.Reid called him “boring”. I hate to say it, but I have to agree. Although it is good that a 60-year-old gets to live his dreams late in life, he needs to show more energy. If he does not step up his game, LeRoy may be headed home.

Chris Reneactually did sing a reggae song. It may have been outside the realm of rock, but I liked it a lot. He just has a way of making it his own and is a great performer. Although it could be considered “cheating” a bit, this was a good choice for him.

Stacy Francisis a very talented singer. It’s unfortunate she is not getting the mentoring she deserves. Her song choice was awful, confirming the mentors need to step up and give them proper guidance. This was not a shining moment for her for the second week in a row, which is disappointing. I really want to see her go far and she does deserve better.

Melanie Amarohas an amazing voice. It is unfortunate that the judges wasted time on discussions of whether it was rock or gospel. Instead they should have spent more time of her brilliant vocals, she sounded incredible!

Josh Krajcikis still the frontrunner. He is definitely the one to beat and was the only one who truly sang a rock song. The authentic vibe that he offers, is certain to have him sailing into the finals. As Simon said “it was bloody fantastic!” And this is coming from someone who is not really in to hard rock.

Astro (Brian Bradley) is a great rapper, so it was puzzling to think how he would pull off a rock song. However, when there is talent….comes incredible performances. He may be a young teen, but has a soul and raw talent far older than his years. It was a great song choice and this kid has what it takes to be a star. And as my mom says, “you can actually understand what he’s saying!” We are watching the unveiling of a superstar.

Lakoda Rayne is holding on for dear life. They have no room for error, due to their unfortunate position of being a part of a group. Paula Abdul has given her team the very best mentoring of them all, but there is little hope for them to make it to the end. While they sounded good and probably will do well after the competition, this performance was not enough for them to stick around.

Drew is unique and offers a sound unlike any other. But I am starting to wonder if some may get tired of the same sound each week. It is hard to tell, but I like her and hopes she goes far. Tonight she picked a good song and rocked it, although not all the judges agreed.

Marcus Canty actually stepped up his game this week. Although rock would not be his gig if he made it in the music industry, he still pulled it off. This had to be a tough week for him and had to be scary, but this was one of his best performances to date. He nailed a Janis Joplin song!

Don’t forget, next week the show dates change again due to the holiday. So it comes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Bottom two for tomorrow…LeRoy Bell and Lakoda Rayne or I will eat my shoes.